Headteacher's Blog #15

I have included in this week's blog a summary of the outcome of the uniform consultation that we launched before Christmas. I started the consultation with parents because I know that it is parents who bear the brunt of decisions that schools make around uniform. From September the government have set statutory guidance that schools have no more than three compulsory uniform items, plus a tie. They have also asked schools to consider the affordability of their uniform, keeping cost to a minimum and ensuring easy access to second hand alternatives. Uniform policies should also comply with the Equality Act and accommodate religious, cultural or gender related requirements. We should make reasonable adjustments for SEND students and should avoid discrimination and gender stereotypes. With all this in mind, this represents an important opportunity to review our uniform offer.

Our parent survey revealed some interesting data on how parents felt about our current uniform requirements. The majority felt that our uniform was practical and appropriate, but the comments revealed some interesting opinions on our uniform and on skirts and branded PE items in particular. I will make a commitment to reduce the number of compulsory items for PE to the bare minimum. I will also work with manufacturers to reduce cost and improve the availability of these items. Skirts were the other item of our uniform that proved contentious amongst parents. Many parents felt that having to buy branded skirts was unfair, given that trousers can be bought on the high street. Many parents also felt that our skirts were too short. I agree with both sentiments, and I will be working on resolving these issues in our new guidance. Unfortunately, the design of our logoed skirts is too short, certainly they couldn't be considered knee length. This has left us with skirts that are unacceptably short, especially in our older year groups. Our skirts become shorter as our students become older. This will have to be addressed and will need to add no more overall cost to parents.

The most important data that came out of the consultation however, was cost. Nearly 50% of respondents expressed worry at meeting the cost of our uniform with a sizable minority having to go into debt to afford it. Making uniform cheaper and more accessible therefore becomes the primary driver for a change in uniform policy. This doesn't only require the school to change policy it also requires parents to hold the line with their children. If we offer unbranded items but our young people then pressurise parents into buying expensive fashion items, this will have been in vain, and uniform could become more expensive. It will also put undue pressure on parents to keep up, spending money that could be used more usefully elsewhere. This will require us all to be brave. 

We will now go to the next stage of our consultation and will publish our guidance in Spring. Thank you all for your support and for your contributions, I am proud to be a member of this community and proud to be LSA. 

The results of the consultation are pictured below. There are forward and back arrows if you wish to navigate the images.